Heat-treated package



Oct. 26, 1965 P. s. STEPHAN 3,214,016

HEAT-TREATED PACKAGE Filed Sept. 18, 1963 INVENTOR PAUL GLENN STEPHANATTORNEY United States Patent 3,214,016 HEAT-TREATED PACKAGE Paul GlennStephan, Landenburg, Pa., assignor to E. I. du Pont de Nemours andCompany, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 18,1963, Ser. No. 310,519 3 Claims. (Cl. 20665) This invention relates toimproved packages and processes for their manufacture and moreparticularly to packages of film-covered bottles and processes for theirmanufacture.

Numerous items are marketed in packages containing two or more items perpackage. This is done to speed up the handling of items, thus reducinglabor-handling costs per item, and to try to induce the direct consumerto purchase more than one item at a time. In the past, the generalpractice has been to use paperboard cartons of various types and sizesto contain the desired number of items.

The beverage industry for both beer and soft drinks is making increasinguse of the nonreturnable capped bottle for packaging purposes; however,one of the major problems is an economical, multiple-unit carrierpackage which accentuates the nonreturnable feature. A neat, rigid,transparent package which can be easily carried is very desirable.However, transparency is not possible when a paperboard carbon is used.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide packages offilm-covered capped bottles and processes for their manufacture.

It is a further object of this invention to provide neat, rigid,transparent packages of heat-shrinkable film-covered capped bottleswhich are economically produced.

A still further object of this invention is to provide economicalnon-returnable packages for non-returnable capped bottles whichaccentuates the non-returnable featurev These and other objects willappear hereinafter.

These and other objects of the invention will be further describedparticularly in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 illustrates a perspective view of the package of thisinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of a rigid top sheet showing six keyhole slotsand two finger holes; and

FIGURES 3 to 6 show a simplified series of steps for the manufacture ofa package of the present invention.

As shown in the drawings, six opposed capped bottles 10 are placed on apiece of transparent, heat-shrinkable film 11, preferably polyethylene,which is then draped over the capped tops of the bottles. The rigid topcard 12 is forced down over the film-covered caps through the largerportion 13 of the keyhole slots. The bottle necks are then forced intothe smaller portions 14 of the keyhole slots and the whole assembly isplaced in an oven, shrinking the film and bringing the looselypositioned bottles into firm contact with each other. A snug,transparent, easily carried package results. The package does notrequire heat-sealing or elaborate machine control; a relatively simplemachine can be used to do the packaging. Finger holes 15 allow thepackage to be easily carried.

In the preferred example of the manufacture of the package, a sheet oftransparent, heat-shrinkable poly- 3,214,016 Patented Oct. 26, 1965 "iceethylene film, cut to the proper dimensions, is placed on agently-sloping, V-shaped trough 16, as shown in FIG- URE 3. Two opposingrows of three capped bottles are placed on the center of the sheet, alsoas shown in FIG- URE 3. Spacer rod 17 positions the bottoms of thebottles the proper distance from each other, and the gently-slopingsides of the V-shaped trough position the capped tops of the bottles theproper distance from each other. The leftand right-hand edges of thesheet of polyethylene film are then draped over the capped tops of thebottles and allowed to hang down between them, as shown in FIGURE 3.

The paperboard top card 12 comprising six keyhole slots and two fingerholes 15 in the center is forced down over the film-draped caps onto thenecks of the bottles, through the larger portion of the keyholes, asshown in FIGURE 4.

Spacer rod 17 between the opposed rows of bottle bottoms is then removedand the gently-sloping, V-shaped trough is changed to form a horizontalplatform. The bottles are thus automatically straightened into theirparallel, upright position, locking the film-draped bottle necks intothe smaller portion of the keyholes in the top card under the skirts ofthe caps, and bringing the bottoms of the bottles closer together, thusforming a loose package. This is all seen in FIGURE 5.

The whole assembly is then placed in an oven maintained to give thedesired film temperature, from F.230 F. for polyethylene films. The oventemperature is, of course, governed by the length of time the assemblyis in the oven. The film shrinks and the entire package is locked into afirm unit which gives a snug, transparent, easily-carried package, asshown in FIG- URE 6.

The preferred heat-shrinkable film is polyethylene. However, anyheat-shrinkable film can be used, such as plasticized polyvinyl chloridefilm, irradiated polyethylene film, polystyrene film, polypropylenefilm, etc. It is also preferred to have the film transparent, thusmaking it unnecessary to print the film or use labels on it, since thelabels or indicia on the bottles themselves will identify the contentsof the package nicely. The top card can be made of any rigid material.

This invention results in a trim, snug, transparent, easilycarriedpackage of two or more capped bottles. When the package is opened, thetop card can be easily removed and thrown away, along with the filmwrapper. No heatsealing or elaborate packaging machinery is required.

What is claimed is:

1. A heat-treated package comprising: at least two contiguous cappedbottles; a sheet of thermoplastic, heatshrinkable film placed under saidbottles, the edges of said sheet draping over the tops of said bottlesand extending between them and completely enclosing said bottles; a toprigid sheet with keyhole slots positioned over the bottle tops with aportion of said bottles extending through said slots, and finger holesfor carrying said package, said rigid sheet locking said film into placeand the bottle tops in the small portions of said keyhole slots holdingsaid rigid sheet in place.

2. The package of claim 1 wherein said thermoplastic, heat-shrinkablefilm is polyethylene.

3. A heat-treated package comprising: six capped bottles, each bottlebeing peripherally contiguous with at least two adjacent bottles; asheet of polyethylene film placed under said bottles, the edges of saidsheet draping over the tops of said bottles and extending between themand completely enclosing said bottles; a top paperboard sheet with sixkeyhole slots positioned over the bottle tops with a portion of saidbottles extending through said slots, and two finger holes in the middleof said paperboard sheet for carrying the package, said paperboard sheetlocking said film into place and the bottle tops in the small portionsof said keyhole slots holding said paperboard sheet in place.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,252,235 8/41Snelling 20665 12/43 Hutafi 20665 3/57 Weikert 5330 12/ 60 Ingham 206658/61 Bruce 206-65 7/62 Harrison 21538 4/63 Poupitch 20665 4/ 63Kirkpatrick 206-65 11/63 Chapman 20665 1/ 64 Copping 206 65 3/64Weissensee 533 0 FOREIGN PATENTS 1 1/ 61 Great Britain.

15 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

GEORGE O. RALSTON, Examiner.

3. A HEAT-TREATED PACKAGE COMPRISING: SIX CAPPED BOTTLES, EACH BOTTLEBEING PERIPHERALLY CONTIGUOUS WITH AT LEAST TWO ADJACENT BOTTLES; ASHEET OF POLYETHYLENE FILM PLACED UNDER SAID BOTTLES, THE EDGES OF SAIDSHEET DRAPING OVER THE TOPS OF SAID BOTTLES AND EXTENDING BETWEEN THEMAND COMPLETELY ENCLOSING SAID BOTTLES; A TOP PAPERBOARD SHEET WITH SIXKEYHOLE SLOTS POSITIONED OVER THE BOTTLE TOPS WITH A PORTION OF SAIDBOTTLES EXTENDING THROUGH SAID SLOTS, AND TWO FINGERS HOLES IN THEMIDDLE OF SAID PAPERBOARD SHEET FOR CARRYING THE PACKAGE, SAIDPAPERBOARD SHEET LOCKING SAID FILM INTO PLACE AND THE BOTTLE TOPS IN THESMALL PORTIONS OF SAID KEYHOLE SLOTS HOLDING SAID PAPERBOARD SHEET INPLACE.